Bay Photo was buzzing with photographers this Monday. We all gathered in the lobby, talking with each other and looking at Bay Photo’s latest and greatest products including their Pacific albums, thin wraps and metal prints.

We then went upstairs and met instructor Jim Garner. Jim told us that years ago he was doing business like many of the photographers today, taking pictures and then giving clients their images, whether in film or digital form. He then explained how he evolved from this way of thinking to focusing on storytelling, and capturing all the moments of the wedding process, so that the story of the day flows fluidly in a storybook, multiple storybooks, or with art such as metal prints.

Jim discussed his workflow from start to finish and explained how he is doing less work overall then he used to and how that allows him to focus on his clients more.

We talked about creating trust with clients and the proper way to introduce yourself and your work to clients so they have an emotional connection to your photographs and yourself. Word of mouth is the best advertisement of a photographer’s work, and creating a great experience for them on their wedding day is as important as the images you capture. He also gave the class many valuable tips and tricks along the way!

After a delicious lunch catered by Bay Photo, we went straight into a group shoot. This was a way for everyone to see how Jim photographs with his storybook layouts in mind, and how he interacts with couples and bridal parties to get their energy up and capture great images, as well as transition images.

Back in the classroom Jim demonstrated video lighting and 3 ways he typically lights his subjects, he then told us about his off camera flash system and illustrated through a slide show the final result of the set-ups we had learned.

Jim demonstrated how he lays out his albums and resizes and edits as a whole. This allows for consistency throughout the images and better storytelling. Again, we learned many tips including keeping people’s heads the same size in the spread, unless there is a reason for not doing so. Next was retouching and ways to hide blurry pixels if you needed to stretch an image for a layout, very valuable information!

This was a great workshop focusing on creating art for clients and forming an emotional connection to them to make their wedding day a great experience for them and for the photographer. I cannot wait for the next Bay Photo Workshop!